I don't know what it is--am I just trying desperately to get in a few more blog posts before the year ends? Am I staying up late so I can sleep in tomorrow in preparation for the New years Eve festivities? Well, yes on the latter. But I'm also feeling a little prescient right now, thanks to this article about Michael Bloomberg. See, when I wrote earlier about a Howard Fineman piece on Bloomberg, I said this:

In fact, it's probably better for Bloomberg if he doesn't wait. He needs to knock out the other contenders to the Republican nomination if he wants to have a shot at the big ring--there has to be a clear difference between him and the Republican nominee, and Huckabee is the guy in that case. There's not enough difference between Bloomberg and Romney, or Bloomberg and Giuliani to play up that politics of contrast.

And here we are, three days before the Iowa caucuses, where Huckabee has surged (though according to one poll, Romney has taken his lead back) and Bloomberg is in the news openly considering a run. If the Iowa power players are listening, he's saying "don't bother caucusing--let Huckabee win and I'll be your guy." Hell, I'll let Bloomberg speak through the reporter:

Despite public denials, the mayor has privately suggested several scenarios in which he might be a viable candidate: for instance, if the opposing major party candidates are poles apart, like Mike Huckabee, a Republican, versus Barack Obama or John Edwards as the Democratic nominee.

I'll be clear here--I think a Bloomberg candidacy helps the Democrats way more than hurts them. US politics are very polarized right now, and for good reason--the right has spent the last 7 years destroying much of this country, and there are a lot of people looking for some payback. This will be a party-line election, I believe, and while there may not be a progressive majority in this country, I think there's a plurality, and that will be enough since the Electoral College is still in place.

Oh, and if you need a good progressive reason to not consider Bloomberg for the Presidency, I have one for you.

Mr. Bloomberg, who has tried to seize a national platform on gun control, the environment and other issues, has been regularly briefed in recent months on foreign policy by, among others, Henry A. Kissinger, his friend and the former secretary of state,